Page 56 of See You Next Month

He hopped up and left the room and Isabella looked back at the phone. “Are you happy to be home with your mom?”

Dana and Emma exchanged a look and grinned. “Yes. She’s sitting right there so we’ll never hear the end of it,” Dana said. “But we missed her.”

Isabella laughed. “You missed a good time. Maybe you should’ve come with us.”

“Told you so!” Kelsey yelled.

“This is my little brother, Gus,” Wyatt said, pushing him down on the couch next to Isabella.

“Hi.” Gus grinned. “Do you like turtles? I hope we get to see turtles when we go on vacation with you.”

“I do like turtles,” Emma said, chuckling.

“My mom saw turtles with your mom when they were there for Christmas,” Gus said. “Mom brought me a turtle.”

“She did?” Dana replied. “We got T-shirts.”

“I got a cap,” Wyatt said, squeezing next to Gus.

Isabella held the phone so the boys’ faces were in view. She could see Dana and Emma were smiling as they asked the boys about their Christmas gifts. A smile spread across her face. Why shouldn’t their kids get along as well as she and Kelsey did? It shouldn’t surprise her, but it certainly filled her heart with happiness.

The kids chatted and made plans for the vacation they would take together until Isabella finally took the phone back. “Okay, Kelsey and I need to talk business. Why don’t you write down all the things you want to do when we get there?”

“It was nice seeing your face, Isabella,” Dana said, handing the phone back to Kelsey.

“Did you hear all that?” Isabella asked as she got up and walked into the kitchen.

“Yes. They were so cute.”

“They really were. Are you in your office?”

“I am now,” Kelsey said, sitting down in her chair.

“Show me your computer,” Isabella said.

“What? Okay.”

Isabella waited for Kelsey to turn the camera around and saw their picture sitting beside Kelsey’s computer. “I was just checking to make sure our picture was still there.”

Kelsey chuckled. “Where else would it be? It’s supposed to make me happy when I’m stressed.”

“Has it worked?”

“It has. I had a lot to do yesterday and had to juggle several accounts. Your smiling face helped me through it.”

Isabella grinned. “I’m glad. So Carmen sent an email with our itinerary for the January trip. I wanted to see what you thought, but if you just came in then you haven’t had a chance to see it.”

“I’ll pull it up now. What did you think about it?” Kelsey asked.

“I think I’m looking forward to lazing on the beach behind our bungalows with you,” Isabella said.

“Are you having a hard day?” Kelsey asked, smiling at Isabella.

“Sometimes Spencer is an ass,” Isabella replied.

“Well, duh, he’d have to be to let you go,” Kelsey said.

Isabella chuckled. Kelsey always knew how to make her smile. “That’s right. What an idiot.”

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